Crush Of The Day: Kaho Tsuchimura

I remember back in 2016 watching the Satomi Ishihara/Tomohisa Yamashita drama 5ji Kara 9ji Made and remarking that although I loved Satomi , the the best thing about the show was the side storyline featuring a then unknown (to me) Rin Takanashi as Momoe Yamabuchi, the geeky fangirl secretly into Yaoi manga and having to deal with a very real love interest-

And now, here we are in 2018 and I’ve just finished watching the first starring vehicle for Rin Takanashi as online gaming director Misa Chigasaki  in the romance drama Koi Ga Heta Demo Ikimasu…but once again, rather than the main story, the thing I loved most about it is the side-storyline, THIS time featuring Kaho Tsuchimura as Chihiro Enomoto, a shy and inexperienced woman dealing with her first “womanizer” relationship!

Back with 5ji Kara 9ji Made, I remember saying I wish that Rin Takanashi’s character Momoe had her own spin-off show, and I found myself wishing the same thing for Chihiro’s plight- for though I love Rin Takanashi and though she was the prettiest I’ve ever seen her, her romance seemed so run of the mill and over done that I barely had any interest when her story was on, and I found myself only waiting for Chihiro’s scenes to come on!

To be true, Chihiro’s plight wasn’t any less cliched or predictable than Misa’s, but Kaho Tsuchimura was SO sweet and lovable as the naive and vulnerable girl coming off a failed engagement with a cheating fiance who befriends a so-called love-‘em and leave ’em ladies man named Hashimoto (Yasushi Fuchikami) who tells her he can teach her to win her man back.

Of course his lessons in life and love can’t go without leaving a mark on the innocent Chihiro and the more time she spends with him, the more attraction she inevitably develops.

She knows that she's being a bother to him but uses sex as a way she believes will keep him interested. But you can tell that she means something special to him, too, and it’s these moments they are together just enjoying each others company that makes the drama for me.

Chihiro is such a sweet character, you really find yourself pulling for her, and though you know it will be predictable all the way, you can't help but keep watching!

After the drama was over I ran to Dramawiki to see if I’d seen Kaho Tsuchimura in anything else, but it looks like she’s new to the scene as her credits only list a few dramas and two movies! Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of this girl- really loved her in this drama! Sorry, Rin! You were beautiful, but it was the sweetness of Kaho that did it for me this time!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Kangoku No Ohimesama 終わり

With shows like Super Salaryman Saenai-Shi and Manhattan Love Story, Kyoko Koizumi is the queen of zany, slapstick comedies, and Kangoku No Ohimesama truly lived up to that legacy! With fun characters, an engaging story and hilarious dialog, this was one show that had me smiling (and crying) throughout its entire run!

What will Kyon Kyon do to top THIS one??? We can only wait to find out!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Wild Girls' Generation Sighting!

The Wicked + The Divine 28

I'm a huge fan of the Image Comics series THE WICKED + THE DIVINE and have always been impressed not only by its poetic script and dialog but the wonderful, detailed artwork as well. And it was poring over that intricate artwork of the latest trade paperback that I noticed something!

 Goddess Urdr is being shown around the bedroom of a troubled teenage boy by his father, and when I looked behind him, I saw a poster and thought immediately, "That looks like Girls' Generation."

It looked a bit like the cover to their album "Baby Baby" , but when I looked over the Google images, there wasn't anything that really matched the comic illustration. But it looked SO familiar, I just knew it had to be them!

I decided to ask the SNSD pros over at Reddit's Girls Generation sub, and queried,

"I was reading an issue of Image Comics' THE WICKED + THE DIVINE and in a panel where they go to visit the room of someone's son, there's this poster behind them....Is it my imagination or is that Girls' Generation?

The very next day, a SONE named ArthurMauk took one look at it and recognized it right away! It was indeed Girls Generation, and he said:

 "Good spot! Yeah it looks exactly the same as THIS photo, cool! :)" 

Look at that poster! It's amazing how well artist Jamie McKelvie captured the likenesses of SNSD, and a redditor named Xian Roberts even commented, "Is it sad that I can recognize and name the girls in the comic without needing to see the original picture?" LOL!

SNSD turns up in the darndest places!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

I See What You Did There

Dean Fujioka and Emi Takei star as would-be partners in the comedy drama "Ima kara Anata wo Kyouhaku Shimasu" and while watching an episode, I caught something that was clearly poking fun at ANOTHER drama:

Senkawa (Fujioka) needs to get ahold of their client ASAP, and rushes to find Kanesaka (Takei) who has been keeping notes on the case. But it's wording had me laughing out loud!

 

Gee, What Notebook of Emi's could Dean be referring to? LOL!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

BG: Shinpen Keigonin~ Personal Bodyguard

Akira Shimazaki was once an elite bodyguard protecting the most prestigious of customers until he failed to protect a valuable client due to an unforeseen circumstance.

Shunned and blacklisted by the bodyguard community, he retreated to doing basic security work where he could remain anonymous and not have to worry about anyones’ well being.

But his supervisor Imazeki ( Toshiyuki Nagashima) knows what an efficient guard Shimazaki truly is, and so when he hears of a new Bodyguard Task Force set up by a colleague, he advises him to join the team. To avoid any discontent among his peers, Akira’s failed past is sealed up and never referred to.

His new team consists of five individuals:

Team Leader Goro Murata (Takaya Kamikawa)

Tactician Takumi Saito (Masaya Takanashi)

The stern agent Mayu Suganuma (Nanao)

and the young and excitable Seitaro Sawaguchi (Shotaro Mamiya).

These are four people with their own complex characteristics and they tend to butt heads and agrue about everything. But they're all excellent at what they do and attempt to make a go of it.

Their first job is to protect a Ramen Mogul who is attending a Marathon race. The man is nervous because a controversial cabinet minister named Aiko Tachihara (Yuriko Ishida) (who is under fire for a mysterious scandal), will be doing the commencement speech and he fears that if she is targeted, he will be hurt in the crossfire.

 This presents the BG team with an obstacle: working with the SP Special Police who are there to protect the woman. The head of the SP team is Yoshiaki Ochiai (Eguchi Yosuke), a man who believes that the bodyguards are inefficient at protection because they are not allowed by law to carry firearms or any other type of weapons, and thinks they will just get in the way.

But as the Bodyguard Team goes into action to protect their client and the SP work to protect theirs, a mutual if grudging sense of respect emerges between the two, and by working on opposite ends of the platform (if not together) they manage to contain any and all threats.

Well, I’ve watched two episodes of BG so far and I like it a lot... It’s a slow-paced and well-directed show (I think the show is an hour’s length rather than the usual 45 minutes, which helps immerse you in the show) and I really like the characters as well as the actors playing them! Gonna enjoy this one!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com